Optical discs, such as compact discs (“CDs”) and digital video discs (“DVDs”), are often used to store computer-readable information. Typically, this information is stored on optical discs in the form of a single track of “lands” and pits” that spirals outward from the center of the disc. Using a tightly focused laser beam, these lands and pits may be read by an optical disc drive. By reading the lands and pits, the optical disc drive can generate electrical voltages which are matched against a timing circuit to generate a binary stream that is readable by a computer.
Magnetic stripe cards, such as credit and debit cards, are also used to store computer-readable information. Typically, such magnetic stripe cards comprise a plastic card having a magnetic stripe comprising a magnetically sensitive material. Conventional magnetic technology is then used to store information, such as a credit account number, on the magnetic stripe. The card can then be read by “swiping” the card through a reader having a magnetic head that senses the magnetic polarities encoded on the magnetic stripe to thereby derive the information encoded on the magnetic stripe.
Previous attempts have been made at combining optical discs and magnetic stripe cards into a single data storage device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,653 issued to Burnett discloses an interactive transaction card that combines these two types of computer-readable media into a single card with magnetically and optically readable storage. However, combining optically readable storage and magnetically readable storage into a commercially-viable transaction card requires that the resulting transaction card be thin enough to be read by traditional magnetic stripe readers, which can only swipe cards less than about 0.96 mm thick. Because of this, traditional magnetic stripe cards typically have a planar thickness from about 0.80 mm to about 0.86 mm. Unfortunately, traditional optical discs have planar thickness of 1.20 mm. When the planar thicknesses of these optical discs are reduced below 1.20 mm, some optical disc drives may have problems reading the data stored on the optical disc due to problems with clamping/engaging the optical disc and/or focusing their lasers at the proper depth within the optical disc.